EPA began promoting administrative changes to improve
the Superfund program in 1989 by publishing the "90-Day Study,"
that focused on concerns such as enforcement, expediting cleanup response,
and encouraging community participation. In June 1991, EPA convened a
30-day task force whose work culminated in initiatives to:

Set aggressive cleanup
targets;

Streamline the Superfund
process;

Elevate site specific
issues that cause delay;

Accelerate private
party cleanups;

Refocus the debate
on Superfund progress; and

Review risk assessment/risk
management policies.

Both the "90-Day
Study" and the "30-Day Study" provided the framework for
the first set of Superfund administrative improvements. Round 1, announced
in June 1993, established nine new initiatives that were designed to:

Increase enforcement
fairness and reduce transaction costs;

Improve cleanup effectiveness
and consistency;

Expand meaningful
public involvement; and

Enhance the State
role in the Superfund program.

In addition, EPA adopted eight continuing initiatives from the 90- and 30-day studies that were designed to improve the overall efficiency, effectiveness, and fairness of the Superfund program.

To obtain more detailed information regarding the initiation of the Superfund Reforms, you may wish to download some of the reports and summary sheets from the General Reforms Documents section of the Documents page.

EPA designed almost half of the reforms to fundamentally
alter the Superfund program, instead of merely improving it. These reforms
have allowed EPA to delete clean parcels from the NPL, initiate PRP search
pilots, offer extensive orphan share compensation, and make other fundamental
changes to the program.

The Superfund program is fundamentally different as a result of the reforms. Since 1993, when EPA announced the first round of reforms, the program has changed in response to stakeholders' concerns. Through the commitment of EPA, State and Tribal site managers, other federal agencies, private sector representatives, and involved communities, EPA has achieved real results in protecting public health and the environment while experimenting with and instituting changes to the cleanup process. EPA's cleanups address real threats to public health and the environment and, where possible, return sites to productive reuse. The reforms are now integrated into the base program, resulting in a faster, fairer, and more efficient Superfund. Some indicators of the Superfund Reforms success include the following [as of 9/01]:

Increased the pace of cleanup and completed cleanup construction at 804 sites on the National Priorities List (NPL);

Announced the selection of 399 Brownfields Assessment Pilots, each funded at up to $200,000 over two years;

Removed over 24,700 small contributors from the liability system;

Signed more than 170 Prospective Purchaser Agreements;

Evaluated and archived over 32,719 sites from CERCLIS, the national inventory of hazardous waste sites.

The reforms benefit citizens who live near Superfund
sites by expediting cleanups, increasing community involvement in cleanup
decisions, and bringing increased economic benefits to communities, both
during cleanup and afterwards. The reforms also benefit all citizens by
forcing those responsible for pollution to pay for cleanup, reducing the
amount of taxpayers' money spent on cleanups. Finally, the reforms help
ensure that all citizens can enjoy a safe environment without unnecessary
costs.

Responsibility for the Superfund Reforms is shared
between the Office of Superfund Remediation Technology Innovation (OSRTI),
which is a division of the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
(OSWER), and the Office of Site
Remediation Enforcement (OSRE),
which is a division of the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
(OECA)

All reforms have achieved a measure of success. Each reform
has served to heighten awareness of a potential problem and most introduced
new policies and guidance or tools that have advanced the cause of a faster,
fairer, and more efficient Superfund program. Indemnification protection
under Reform 2-9b, "Risk Sharing, Identifying Obstacles," has never been
requested. EPA believes that the availability of commercial insurance
is a likely reason. Also, activities under Reform 2-7a, "Training/Health
Assistance to Communities," were curtailed at the request of Congress.

Yes, EPA welcomes your input. Each reform has at least
one identified EPA contact (see Contacts by Reform
page) that you can reach by mail, phone, or e-mail.

Alternatively, you can submit comments on a specific reform, on the overall
reforms initiative, or on the usefulness of this website with the Comments form. For more questions and answers about Superfund in general, see the Superfund Frequent Questions page.